Dreaming of a Midsummer Night

JD and I had yet another fun experience of going to the Utah Symphony Orchestra last night, again for free! I love free dates! This time it was a Classic series which included music from Brahmes and Handel, the main portion of the show, however was excerpts from the opera based on Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. I thought it was well done, the narrators were amazing, not a huge fan of the opera pieces, but I was excited to see Fred Adams (founder of the Shakespearean festival in Cedar City) play the part of Puck. As we headed to the car, I asked JD what he thought of the evening. His response: "I'm pretty sure that I didn't understand

most of what was spoken this evening, but the music was nice." Maybe a trip to Cedar this summer is in order.....then again, maybe not.

Bravo Broadway: Wicked Divas

JD and I went to the Utah Symphony Orchestra Pops Concert on Thursday night and it was AMAZING. They featured several great songs sung by Stephanie J Block and Julia Murney, they were playing Elphaba in Wicked at the same time (trading off between traveling company and Gershwin theater in New York). Both were fantastic singers and performers. They sang a variety of songs, My Heart Will Go On, Ring Them Bells, All that Jazz, Think of Me, among others and ended with Defying Gravity, Popular, and For Good from Wicked. For past youth guild members, I only saw about 5 empty seats in the theater it was packed. I have never seen it that full. It was a fantastic performance. :)

Fried Eggs and Fires

So we have some eggs that will go bad soon. The solution? Cook them. That was a good idea until JD was frying some eggs for sandwiches last night when the 'smoke' triggered our smoke alarm, not once, but twice. It was a good check on the fire alarm system throughout the entire house. JD was opening the door and yelling up the stairs that it is our fault and there wasn't a fire. I am fanning away some of the 'smoke' from the alarm area and holding the pan in the air, egg and all, hoping that the 'smoke' would stop. After getting it to stop, we made the mistake of trying to finish the egg and the whole thing started all over again.....I am glad the Roberts' like us. Today.....hard boiled eggs.

Classic Vick's Nyquil commercial

JD is sick and sounds a lot like this guy. The one after this is worth watching too.

Singing in the Rain

JD must really like me, because I was able to talk him into watching Singing in the Rain. For those who have seen it, I know you are thinking, what is there to talk into? But for those who have not seen the "musical treasure" skeptisism often takes precedence over enjoying this fantastic movie. JD even appreciated the ability of the actors to sing and dance and act. It surprised me how much of the dialogue I have memorized too. It was a really fun night. Interesting facts from the movie:

• The Singing in the Rain scene was filmed while Gene Kelly had a 103 degree fever. The rain water was mixed with milk so it would show up on the film better. This mixture happened to make Gene's suit shrink. They also went through quite a few umbrellas.


• Debbie Reynolds was 19 when filming the film and Gene didn't approve of her dance skills compared with his. One day, Fred Astaire (as in Fred and Ginger) found Debbie crying under a piano after Gene had yelled at her over her dancing and he offered to give her private dance lessons to get her to the level Gene wanted her at.


• Jean Hagen (Lina Lamont) actually dubbed over some of Debbie Reynold's songs in the film, with her normal voice of course.

I HATE VALENTINES COMMERCIALS!!!!

This is a vent so if you don't want to read about me whining stop now because I am passionately against stupid Valentine's Day commercials. THEY ARE SO FLIPPING STUPID!!!! JD and I were watching something last night and a commercial pops on about a couple and a stupid teapot and how their marriage almost fell apart because on their first Valentine's Day he gave her a one person teapot. So this Valentine's he gave her a 2 person teapot with a diamond necklace in it....result you are wondering? The dumb girl opens the teapot ready to cry and then the necklace and says... Now this is what says I love you. Really? Seriously? This is dumb.

Another case in point.....the stupid commercials on the charm bracelets, no offence to those who think they are cute but what do they have to do with anything and what man is really capable of putting together an entire meaningful charm bracelet with that many trinkets all for the low low price of $150+?

And finally, the Hallmark speaking book.....I think they are creepy not cute.

I am not saying that I hate the holiday. I think it is nice to have a day in recognition of the people you care about, but the extent to which it is commercialized to dupe the poor men out there just bugs. I am done now....until the next commercial comes on.

Ski Pipe World Cup 2011

The day finally came! JD and I had a blast up at Park City Mountain Resort for the 2011 Ski Pipe World Championships. It was super fun (parking was the first great adventure) and we didn't get too cold, another bonus. The athletes were fun to watch as they came down the pipe we stayed down at the bottom and could see the looks of frustration or excitement depending on how their run went. Overall a fantastic new experience. Hopefully the debate ends well this year with the Ski Pipe event being added to the Olympic games in Sochi 2014. :)